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Just about a week back, I posted that poor battery management has been my biggest gripe about Android as a mobile OS. But then the fragmentation is an equally big issue for many users. Michael Degusta has done all the hard work and has come out with an infographic which shows the sad state of support for majority of the Android smartphones released in US in the past couple of years.

Support for iPhones

As you can see from the infographic above, Apple has been supporting 3 year old iPhone 3G & iPhone 3GS till now. Their latest OS – iOS 5 is available (though with certain limitations) on every model except the original iPhone (which is more than 4 year old now). Same is the case with iPod Touch & iPad.

Android Updates

Recently, Google announced that their flagship android phone – the Nexus One, won’t be getting the latest Android 4.0 update. Nexus owners have traditionally been luckier than the rest when it comes to Android OS upgrades, hence this news sent shockwaves amongst android users.

Michael says-

Other than the original G1 and MyTouch, virtually all of the millions of phones represented by this chart are still under contract today. If you thought that entitled you to some support, think again:

7 of the 18 Android phones never ran a current version of the OS.

12 of 18 only ran a current version of the OS for a matter of weeks or less.

10 of 18 were at least two major versions behind well within their two year contract period.

11 of 18 stopped getting any support updates less than a year after release.

13 of 18 stopped getting any support updates before they even stopped selling the device or very shortly thereafter.

15 of 18 don’t run Gingerbread, which shipped in December 2010.

In a few weeks, when Ice Cream Sandwich comes out, every device on here will be another major version behind.

At least 16 of 18 will almost certainly never get Ice Cream Sandwich.

Michael goes on analyzing the reasons behind the sorry state of affairs, which are worth debating in a separate post. But the fact remains that Google must do something about this and can’t turn a blind eye for a long time.

Raju is the founder-editor of Technology Personalized. A proud geek and an Internet freak, who is also a social networking enthusiast. You can follow him on Facebook and on Twitter. Mail Raju PP. Follow rajupp